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Every actual gripe I see is from people who didn't pay their bill and then got upset when their car stopped working.
I have seen the contracts for "buy here, pay here" sub prime used car loan lending places, and the contract language is REALLY CLEAR about the installation of a GPS-based device that has enforcement ability over the engine control computer/fuel injection/starter system. You have to be delinquent to get shut off.

But that said, the average person who is buying a $9,000 used car with terrible credit is highly unlikely to read and comprehend the full text of the loan contract.

It's easy to blame the people who can't afford to pay their bills but it misses the point.

First, someone who misses their car payment shouldn't find themselves in physical danger. Having your car shut down while it is running is incredibly dangerous and unjustified.

Second, most of these people are being preyed on by lenders who know they cannot pay the loan on their car. The business model is no longer helping someone find a vehicle, but rather renting them a vehicle in the short term and expecting them to default so you can sell the same car over and over again.

It's much easier and more comforting to blame the victims of this fraudulent business model than it is to examine and fix the underlying issue with predatory loans in this country.

Subprime auto lending is a result of subprime home loans going out of vogue. It's trashed the used car market and does not make things easier for anyone trying to live within their means.

Maybe we should stop playing whack-a-mole and address the underlying issue.

>In Nevada, one woman testified to the Legislature that her car had been shut down on a freeway.

Remote control technologies stacks (e.g. OnStar) are also arguably critical infrastructure and need to be viewed as such from a security/reliability/control perspective. Lenders don't get to monkey around with the power grid.